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Friday, May 20, 2011

SECOND COMING 1 1/2

George Offerman

There have been several people asking me my thoughts about the ‘upcoming rapture’ to take place tomorrow. Frankly, it was so low on my radar that I was going to let it pass, but for the sake of not being on record prior to this non event that will not occur, I decided I will write a brief commentary on it. The doctrine, or should I say theory of the Rapture is embraced by many, and there are even a few who make a decent case of finding this in scripture. However, I am not a believer in the rapture (I will go over this in a separate posting) and see this as another sensationalist making waves that will ultimately result in many people getting frustrated. There may be a healthy secondary benefit, in that at least some will consider the times we live in, and they may grow closer to God as a result.

I settle for this title instead of the more absurd “Second coming, the double secret probation edition” because even though I do not believe this scenario, the Second Coming is no joke and will be the most serious event in the history of mankind and of the universe. I, like my children, enjoyed the “Lion King, 1 ½” as it told the story within the story of the first and second movies. But unlike the movie, I do not find any convincing Scriptures that discuss a secret, Second Coming 1 ½, in which those ‘left behind’ have another chance at redemption. It was not done at the time of the flood, it was not done at Sodom and Gomorrah, it was not done at the tower of Babel, it was not done at the time of enslavement of the Israelites, and it was not done at the time of the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. Given that God is unchangeable and that his character remains the same, once the test starts, all of us will undergo the test he has set up for us.

This prediction violates several premises in the Bible, and the first one has already been covered. We are told by Jesus himself that we will not know the day or the hour of his coming, and when it does occur, it will take mankind by surprise. Neither of these truths, as revealed by Jesus can be met by this event as they violate both of them. We also know from Daniel that Revelation is to be 1335 days in length, a rather specific amount of time, and this gentleman is predicting the Rapture tomorrow, with the ‘end of time’ sometime this October. That is a time span of around 150 days. Where did Mr. Camping get the authority to change ‘the times’ in Scripture?

There seems to be no doubt that Mr. Camping is serious about his prediction, and appears to have enough conviction about it to ‘shout it from the rooftops’. This is an admirable trait, even though I, along with many others, believe it is misguided. Mr. Camping has also taken no money from the 72 + million he has raised for his ministry over the years. I also have found his calculations concerning at least 1994 to be relevant, even though it appears we would disagree as to the nature of 1994 and what it really meant. The hope in this is, when tomorrow comes and passes without incident that many are not deceived and end up despairing over what did not occur. God in his wisdom did not intend prophecy to bear these fruits, but prophecy is there to warn us of the future and to prepare ourselves for that future.

Since there seems to be ample evidence in scripture that all alive at the start of Revelation will go through Revelation, I am not putting any hope into a ‘rapture’ event either tomorrow or anytime in the future. Scripture tells us that we are warned by prophets, and if we follow their recommendations and fall before the Lord with humble and contrite hearts, judgment will be postponed. Likewise, if we do not heed the “thus says the Lord’ we will deal with the consequences and judgments together. Either way, get a good night’s sleep tonight, and with God’s grace, hope to see you all on Monday.

About Me

I was in Catholic Seminary for 4 years, and left in the mid 80's. I have been involved in health care since that time, having worked in psychiatric units, community mental health centers, and ran my own private practice for over 15 years. I have continued with my interst in Biblical studies, especially in the area of prophecy. I also took an interest in finances, initially to help out my married clinents who had financial difficulties.